How to Install MariaDB Database Server on RHEL 8

This guide has been written to help you install and configure the MariaDB Database server on RHEL 8. RHEL 8 is distributed with MariaDB 10.3 which is binary-compatible with MySQL. MariaDB 10.3 is a multi-user, multi-threaded SQL database server. You can find all RHEL 8 new features on my previous article Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 (RHEL 8) New Features & Review

MariaDB is a community-developed fork of the MySQL relational database management system. it is a fast and robust database server with a huge community behind its development and improvements.

MariaDB 10.3 in RHEL8 vs 5.5 distributed in RHEL 7

MariaDB 10.3 available in RHEL 8 provides numerous new features over 5.5 available in RHEL 7. Some of the new changes are:

InnoDB is used as the default storage engine instead of XtraDB.

System-versioned tables

FOR loops

MariaDB Galera Cluster, a synchronous multi-master cluster, is now a standard part of MariaDB.

Sequences

Instant ADD COLUMN for InnoDB

Invisible columns

Parallel replication

Multi-source replication

Common table expressions

Storage-engine independent column compression

Install MariaDB 10.3 on RHEL 8

Follow the steps below to install and configure MariaDB 10.3 on RHEL 8.

Step 1: Update your RHEL 8 system

sudo yum update
sudo yum upgrade

Step 2: Install MariaDB Database Server on RHEL 8

The mariadb package is available in the AppStream repository and can be installed by running the command:

Step 3: Start and Configure MariaDB on RHEL 8

Once the service is started, run the command mysql_secure_installation to harden MariaDB database server security.

$ mysql_secure_installation
NOTE: RUNNING ALL PARTS OF THIS SCRIPT IS RECOMMENDED FOR ALL MariaDB
SERVERS IN PRODUCTION USE! PLEASE READ EACH STEP CAREFULLY!
In order to log into MariaDB to secure it, we'll need the current
password for the root user. If you've just installed MariaDB, and
you haven't set the root password yet, the password will be blank,
so you should just press enter here.
Enter current password for root (enter for none):
OK, successfully used password, moving on...
Setting the root password ensures that nobody can log into the MariaDB
root user without the proper authorisation.
Set root password? [Y/n] y
New password: <ENTER NEW PASSWORD>
Re-enter new password: <CONFIRM PASSWORD>
Password updated successfully!
Reloading privilege tables..
... Success!
By default, a MariaDB installation has an anonymous user, allowing anyone
to log into MariaDB without having to have a user account created for
them. This is intended only for testing, and to make the installation
go a bit smoother. You should remove them before moving into a
production environment.
Remove anonymous users? [Y/n] y
... Success!
Normally, root should only be allowed to connect from 'localhost'. This
ensures that someone cannot guess at the root password from the network.
Disallow root login remotely? [Y/n] y
... Success!
By default, MariaDB comes with a database named 'test' that anyone can
access. This is also intended only for testing, and should be removed
before moving into a production environment.
Remove test database and access to it? [Y/n] y
- Dropping test database...
... Success!
- Removing privileges on test database...
... Success!
Reloading the privilege tables will ensure that all changes made so far
will take effect immediately.
Reload privilege tables now? [Y/n] y
... Success!
Cleaning up...
All done! If you've completed all of the above steps, your MariaDB
installation should now be secure.
Thanks for using MariaDB!